key business driversThe attributes of a business function that drive the behavior and implementation of that business function in order to achieve the strategic business goals of the company.

Key Performance IndicatorA measurable quantity against which specific Performance Criteria can be set when drawing up the SLA.

Key Success IndicatorA measurement of success or maturity of a project or process.

See also "Critical Success Factor".

Knowledge ManagementDiscipline within an organization that ensures that the intellectual capabilities of an organization are shared, maintained and institutionalized.

known errorAn incident or problem for which the root cause is known and for which a temporary Work-around or a permanent alternative has been identified. If a business case exists, an RFC will be raised, but, in any event, it remains a known error unless it is permanently fixed by a change.

latencyThe elapsed time from the moment when a seek was completed on a disk device to the point when the required data is positioned under the read/write heads. It is normally defined by manufacturers as being half the disk rotation time.

lifecycleA series of states, connected by allowable transitions. The lifecycle represents an approval process for Configuration Items, problem reports and change documents.

logical I/OA read or write request by a program. That request may, or may not, necessitate a physical I/O. For example, on a read request the required record may already be in a memory buffer and therefore a physical I/O is not necessary.

marginal costThe cost of providing the service now, based upon the investment already made.

maturity level/milestoneThe degree to which BCM activities and processes have become standard business practice within an organization.